Security Systems News - ETLhttp://www.securitysystemsnews.com/taxonomy/term/516
enUL, Intertek announce support for ASAPhttp://www.securitysystemsnews.com/article/ul-intertek-announce-support-asap
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<div class="field-item even"> The testing labs find the program to speed the delivery of alarm notifications meets national standards</div>
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<div class="field-item even" property="schema:datePublished dc:date"><span class="date-display-single" property="schema:datePublished dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2011-11-22T00:00:00-05:00">11/22/2011</span></div>
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<div class="field-item even" rel="schema:author dc:creator">Rich Miller</div>
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<div class="field-item even" property="schema:articleBody content:encoded"> <p>CAMAS, Wash. and FAIRFIELD, N.J.—The monitoring industry’s Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) got a big boost recently when Underwriters Laboratories and Intertek both announced that the new program meets the requirements of the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code (NFPA 72).</p>
<p>ASAP, developed by the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, has been deployed in Houston, Richmond, Va., and York County, Va., with plans to take it nationwide. ASAP speeds the delivery of alarm notifications to public safety answering points (PSAPs) by providing information via computer instead of phone from a central station.</p>
<p>“The analysis of the results of how emergency calls were handled during the recent mid-Atlantic earthquake and how notifications are handled day to day by the city of Houston’s Emergency Center are compelling,” said Chris Hasbrook, vice president for buildings, fire, life safety and security for Washington-based Underwriters Labs. “After a technical review of NFPA 72, the model code that governs these important life safety functions, UL found the ASAP-to-PSAP program consistent with the language and intent of (the code).”</p>
<p>Ed Bonifas, past president of the CSAA and co-chairman of the group’s ASAP committee, said the importance of UL and Intertek (ETL) certification extends beyond the monitoring industry.</p>
<p>“(Companies) are coming on board with this program with reckless abandon right now, so the alarm industry isn’t more or less likely to do this based on the acceptance that we just got,” he said. “But at the same time, we’re looking for public safety to adopt this as well. I think that showing compliance with the fire codes is a really valuable tool to help PSAPs accept that this is an OK way to take signals. (UL and ETL) are both really helpful to have on board, because nobody will question the acceptability of this for fire alarm communication.”</p>
<p>Tom Connaughton, director of global life safety and security services for New Jersey-based Intertek, said ASAP earned the testing laboratory’s ETL mark after a review that lasted about a week.</p>
<p>“We have a program manager and lead engineer who has 18 to 19 years of experience in this area,” Connaughton said. “We had him and his team sit down with the protocols and basically compare them to the (alarm communication) standard in which they’re experts, do a technical assessment and provide feedback. The results were positive.”</p>
<p>Connaughton said Intertek is in the process of incorporating ASAP into its alarm certification program and education materials.</p>
<p>“Intertek views this as the first step in the implementation of this vast technological development,” he said. “We see the need for it in the reduction of nuisance alarms and getting our police officers and first responders responding to real incidents instead of chasing phantoms.”</p> </div>
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<span property="dc:title" content="UL, Intertek announce support for ASAP" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:20:10 +0000Tess Nacelewicz15081 at http://www.securitysystemsnews.comhttp://www.securitysystemsnews.com/article/ul-intertek-announce-support-asap#commentsVideo monitoring firm Westec goes the extra mile with ULhttp://www.securitysystemsnews.com/article/video-monitoring-firm-westec-goes-extra-mile-ul
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<div class="field-item even">Proprietary automation platform vetted</div>
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<div class="field-item even" property="schema:datePublished dc:date"><span class="date-display-single" property="schema:datePublished dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2010-09-09T12:05:20-04:00">09/09/2010</span></div>
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<div class="field-item even" rel="schema:author dc:creator">SSN Staff</div>
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<div class="field-item even" property="schema:articleBody content:encoded"><p class="5text">DALLAS—Westec Intelligent Surveillance, which earlier this year <a href="http://www.securitysystemsnews.com/article/video-monitoring-firm-westec-gets-behind-intertek-etl">became one of the first</a> interactive video surveillance companies to get behind new-to-security nationally recognized testing lab Intertek ETL, has taken the extra step of getting additional listings from UL, the company announced Sept. 1.</p>
<p class="5text">Why go through the time and expense to do both?</p>
<p class="5text">“This was not really part of a master plan. We certainly had the option to stop once we achieved the ETL listing, but we realized we were really right down at the final few yards,” said Westec CTO Jon Bolen. “We had a number of customers who were very familiar with UL and we realized this would drive an increase in customer confidence in a particular segment, so we went ahead and just pushed the ball across the goal line.”</p>
<p class="5text">When a monitoring center earns a UL listing “their customers will enjoy the benefits of acceptance by a network of AHJs who share an appreciation for the value of UL Certification,” Steve Schmitt, operations lead for UL’s Alarm Certificate Service said.</p>
<p class="5text">Additionally, during UL’s audit process—which included testing for UL 827, NFPA 72 and UL 1981—UL vetted Westec’s proprietary central station automation platform software.</p>
<p class="5text">Does this mean that Westec could enter the space dominated by the likes of DICE, Bold, SureView and SGS, among others? Bolen said it’s certainly possible, but unlikely. “At this point, we’ve made a strategic decision not to market the application,” Bolen said. “But UL has said from an operating standpoint the application does everything it needs to do.”</p>
<p class="5text">Bolen’s bullish on the benefits of the ETL/UL duel-endorsement. “To our knowledge we are the only interactive video-based alarm company listed by both UL and ETL. It says something about both Westec and the interactive services space. We’re no longer a novelty,” Bolen said. “The idea of interactive services has become very much a part of folks’ business decisions as they look at virtual guard services, virtual management services and verified response.”</p>
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<span property="dc:title" content="Video monitoring firm Westec goes the extra mile with UL" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:05:20 +0000legacy_admin13985 at http://www.securitysystemsnews.comhttp://www.securitysystemsnews.com/article/video-monitoring-firm-westec-goes-extra-mile-ul#comments